Cleaning job pricing calculator

What visit price recovers the entered costs at your selected surplus share?

FreeNo signupU.S. dollarsUpdated September 5, 2026

Starting example

One representative blended residential visit by one two-person crew; the company has two such crews. Paid owner labor is in allocated overhead once, never a third field cleaner.

One blended visit uses 3.8 cleaner hours, or 1.9 elapsed hours for two cleaners. The $21 blended cleaner wage excludes the owner. Nonbillable time allocates all paid unused capacity once. The physical supply basket is $10 per visit. Vehicle operating costs, paid owner labor and other fixed costs are divided by the two-crew company's 129.9 mature monthly visits. Processing and employer tip allowances are projected at the quote needed for the selected 10% surplus target. Every number is a projection of the authored roster and cost ledger, requiring local validation.

People in one crewwhole people

Count people who work together. Paid owner management belongs in overhead unless the owner is part of this field crew.

Productive visit durationelapsed crew hours

Time during which the whole crew works together on this visit. This is not total cleaner-hours.

Allocated nonbillable timehours / worker / visit

Allocate paid travel, setup, breaks, leave and unused capacity once, consistent with the roster.

Hourly wageUSD / paid worker-hour

Use gross wages before employer burden. For mixed roles, use a documented weighted wage.

Employer burden% of gross wages

Additional employer costs divided by gross wages. Include relevant taxes, insurance and benefits once. No statutory rate is supplied.

SuppliesUSD / visit

Materials consumed by this visit.

Nonlabor travel costUSD / visit

Vehicle operating cost allocation. Travel wages already belong in paid hours.

Other allocated overheadUSD / visit

Include management and other costs once, excluding entries above. Recalculate any sales-based fee allocation after changing the quote.

Target surplus over entered costs% of selling price

Must be below 100%. Completeness of the entered cost basis determines what this surplus covers. This is a margin on sales, not a markup on cost.

Your entered scenario

Starting example

Calculation updated using the entered assumptions.

Required visit quote$251.27

Entered cost per visit$226.14

Surplus over entered costs$25.13

Quote per productive crew-hour$132.24

Productive cleaner-hours: 3.80
Nonbillable cleaner-hours: 1.53
Total paid cleaner-hours: 5.33
Productive labor: $91.57
Nonbillable labor: $36.95
Supplies: $10.00
Nonlabor travel: $10.01
Other allocated overhead: $77.61
Surplus / quote: 10.0%
Markup / entered cost: 11.1%

Read the formula ↓

Read this result in its stated scope

Price and surplus cover only entered costs. The starting 10% target is an authored scenario, not the forecast margin. Depreciation, interest, income tax, vehicle replacement and cash timing are excluded; this is not a complete accounting margin or owner take-home.
Processing and employer tip costs are fixed dollar allocations calibrated at the authored $251.27 quote. Changing wages, hours, job scope, cost allocations or the target changes price without updating these sales-linked costs. Rebuild the fee allocation for the new quote before claiming a margin after all sales-linked costs.
The cleaner burden converts a $100 monthly total employer benefit allowance per worker into a rate at $21 per hour and 173.2 paid hours per month. Recompute the rate when wages, paid hours or benefits change; the whole rate is not a statutory payroll tax rate.
Paid travel labor is in nonbillable hours; travel cost contains only the allocated vehicle operating expense. Paid owner labor is in overhead once. Changed crew size, job time, route volume or staffing requires a new allocation of paid capacity and company costs.
The $10 supply basket is a fixed amount for the representative job. It does not become 4% of an edited quote. Leave, travel, rest and unused paid capacity are already allocated; do not add them to labor a second time.
The quote does not demonstrate customer willingness to pay, route feasibility or sufficient demand.
Include management and owner work once. If depreciation and replacement funding are absent, this is an entered-cost surplus, not a complete accounting margin or distributable cash.
An absolute overhead allocation does not automatically adjust sales-based fees after price-driving inputs change. Rebuild that allocation before relying on the target.

Review the business evidence and assumptions →

Preset sources: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2025; FLSA Hours Worked Advisor: Travel Between Job Sites; FLSA Hours Worked Advisor: Rest and Meal Periods; Publication 15 (2026), Employer's Tax Guide; Payments and invoicing pricing; Plan your business

Formula and interpretation

Paid cleaner-hours = crew size × (productive visit hours + allocated nonbillable hours per worker)

Visit cost = burdened paid labor + supplies + nonlabor travel + other overhead

Required quote = entered visit cost ÷ (1 − target surplus share)

Crew-hours measure elapsed time while the crew works together. Cleaner-hours add the paid time of all crew members.

A target surplus share is measured against selling price. Markup uses cost as its denominator and therefore differs.

Definitions and sources

These references support the definitions and calculation boundaries. The starting numerical example is authored for arithmetic; each available business preset has its own evidence and limitations.

Operating profit margin definition — BDC. Supports the profit-to-sales denominator. The entered-cost price equation is an algebraic scenario; no Canadian benchmark is transferred. Accessed September 5, 2026.
Employer compensation concepts — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Supports wage and benefit categories and the distinction between shares of compensation and a burden divided by wages. No observed rate is used. Accessed September 5, 2026.

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Connect the calculation to a complete operating plan

Review startup uses, staffing, annual results and input evidence alongside the relevant worksheets. A single calculation does not replace local quotes or a dated cash schedule.

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Cleaning job pricing calculator

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